Wayne Brady, Bill Maher Black Man, Black Man Jokes?

(ThyBlackMan.com) Depending on whom you ask, Wayne Brady should or should not have taken exception to being used as fodder for the “non-threatening Black man” joke. Also depending on whom you ask, the oft-used joke by Bill Maher should be considered less of an insult and more a compliment, in that Wayne Brady is not emblematic of the negative depictions of African-American men.

But in the end, the only real opinion that matters in the discussion of Bill Maher V. Wayne Brady is Brady’s…which he made abundantly clear; indicating he’d “gladly slap the sh!t out of Bill.”

As of this moment, there has been no public response from Maher, which is surprising to some degree given his consistent activity on Twitter and willingness to verbally beat down those who publicly engage him. And even if Bill Maher does eventually respond, expect it from the safety of his television show, complete with his sympathetic and sycophantic audience. Look for it in the form of snide commentary in the “New Rules” section, assailing Wayne Brady’s supposed oversensitivity (i.e. “you can’t take a joke”).

There is a real discussion to be had as to whether it is “funny” for Bill Maher the community outsider to consistently weigh in with opinions on who is a “real” Black man or just really non-threatening. Although the issues of race may be within the purview of comics, it doesn’t mean that we as the audience relinquish our right to find certain humor distasteful.

Bill Maher’s track record of mean-spirited humor can’t be argued or denied. All personal political allegiances aside, we should be in agreement on that Maybe Bill Maher felt comfortable quipping about Wayne Brady because he also had a long history of wagging his finger at Republicans for racism. Possibly Maher felt comfortable poking Wayne Brady because Bill Maher has been so public in his support of President Obama. According to Brady, Bill Maher’s comfort level is inextricably linked to his penchant for pillow talk with Black “girlfriends.”

The most interesting part of Wayne Brady’s very public rant was that it gave considerable insight into the psyche of many Black men. For many of us, we understood exactly the nature of Brady’s remarks, in a way Bill Maher never could and never will. For many of us, there was a head-nod of agreement and understanding as to how and why Brady “went there” and in such graphic detail. There is a socialization, a standard operating procedure if you will, relative to our interaction.

First and foremost, you should never call out one’s manhood. Amongst Black men it is both implicitly and explicitly understood. Meaning, if a man can’t seem to “get it” implicitly, then it will be explained to you explicitly…in probably a very uncomfortable manner.

Wayne Brady’s remarks were telling in many ways. Not only for their content, but also for the underlying subtext in the manner delivered. Wayne Brady made it very clear he is, and will always be a Black man, and abundantly clear on our rules of interaction.

In short, Wayne Brady reminded Maher that “our rules” state that there are some things you can only say on a non-Black television network to a non-Black panel, with a 99% non-Black studio audience playing along.

Bill Maher may have “New Rules” on his television program, but in relation to Black men, our old ones are still in effect.

Comments

While I did not see the particular show in which Bill Maher commented on Wayne Brady and President Obama, I couldn’t agree more that Obama needs to embrace his “Blackness” a little tighter. Don’t get me wrong, I love the guy and I voted for him not because he’s black, but because he was the best man for the job. The fact that he was black was an extra special super duper bonus! To help better understand what Bill Maher was saying about both of them…I suggest looking no further than the comments of The Ultimate N—a, Samuel Jackson in an article from the March 2012 issue of Ebony Magazine:

“When it comes down to it, they wouldn’t have elected a [bleep]. Because, what’s a [bleep]? A [bleep] is scary. Obama ain’t scary at all. [Bleeps] don’t have beers at the White House. [Bleeps] don’t let some white dude, while you in the middle of a speech, call [him] a liar. A [bleep] would have stopped the meeting right there and said, ‘Who the [bleep] said that?’ I hope Obama gets scary in the next four years, ’cuz he ain’t gotta worry about getting re-elected.”

I was offended by maher’s comments and my skins white. My first thought was “why’s a black guy gotta be gangsta”. Which seems to be the common response. I’m from a mixed family in the south and very aware of the inequalities still present today. All that being said….Bill Maher isn’t the enemy(if you know what I mean) so I hope this is squashed soon. We’ve got to pull together for this next election.

People misnterpret Bill Maher too much. If you would just listen to him it’s obvious he doesn’t Peoples all black people are thugs. I think a big issue people have is that Maher has always mixed in his crude, insensitive humor(which should by all means not be taken seriously or at face go especially in this case because he generally knows people who actually pay attention to what he says realize that he isn’t trying to reinforce stereotypes or anything like that, but point out the absurdity of them.), with serious political commentary. Those two things don’t always go together very well because I think it confuses people into taking his comedy too seriously and misinterpreting it. People need to take what he says with a grain of salt because he is first and foremost a comedian, and also take the time to find out where he stands on an issue and putting that into perspective with what he says instead of becoming offended so quickly.

People misnterpret Bill Maher too much. If you would just listen to him it’s obvious he doesn’t Peoples all black people are thugs. I think a big issue people have is that Maher has always mixed in his crude, insensitive humor(which should by all means not be taken seriously or at face go especially in this case because he generally knows people who actually pay attention to what he says realize that he isn’t trying to reinforce stereotypes or anything like that, but point out the absurdity of them.), with serious political commentary. Those two things don’t always go together very well because I think it confuses people into taking his comedy too seriously and misinterpreting it. People need to take what he says with a grain of salt because he is first and foremost a comedian

I competely understand why Mr. Brady reacted in that manner because,mahner needs think before he says fictional bull shit. He needs to stop asuming that all black people carry guns. Heck, stop using blacks as an escape goat for humor and negative stereotypes. Things need to change

Wow, the comments from Alyssa and Black32 are stunning. If you listen to Maher’s comments, it’s less about Wayne Brady and more about blacks in general. When he said that ‘the president needs to act like a real black person and pull up his shirt, expose a gun and ask do we have a problem?’, he’s suggesting that a true black person walks around and acts like a thug. Maher can’t question any black person’s blackness. What makes us black is the color of our skin, not the way we act. Not the way we dress. Not the way we speak. Not the way we think. Wayne Brady may be well liked and accepted by whites, but isn’t that the Dream that Dr. King had? All through the struggle for civil rights, our people fought for equal rights and to be accepted in society. Wayne Brady has achieved that. Instead of celebrating that fact, he and brothers like him is looked at as being sellouts, soft or playing up to the white man. Instead of showing disapproval with Wayne Brady’s response, show outrage at the stereotype Bill Maher has perpetuated. You are so willing to give a pass to Maher, because he supports Obama, than the black man who was called out.

Wayne Brady and whoever wrote this tripe above need to stop whining. Bill Maher merely stated that Obama needs to be more aggressive in dealing with BP/GOP, instead of being a likeable black man like Wayne Brady’s persona on TV. This wasn’t a slam at a “black person’s manhood.” As a black man myself, I find Bill Maher’s comments funny and truthful, given the TV roles Brady has taken on.

This is a sad commentary. It is sad in that it supports the fake outrage of Brady whom was also ridiculed by Dave Chappel and took it in stride joining the show. The double standards of people of color are pathetic. Said from a woman of color. We can’t get anywhere if we are not secure enough to be rational.

Speak Your Mind

Tell us what you're thinking... and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!